OrtizGames

When Reuters says something, it tends to be rather serious, so in this article they just released on MGS4 I had to bite my lip a little. I promised I would write about M.U.L.E., but I really haven’t have that much time recently so I’d rather mention this current issue briefly.

Reuters suggests MGS4, along with a lot of other upcoming exclusives for the PS3 (and Wii and presumably Xbox 360, if in fact it’s getting any?) are among the last of the fading breed of console exclusives. Now, they may have a point that if games continue to become more and more pricey in their development, they’ll eventually be unable to sell their product enough to get a product, but there are several things that Reuters is not taking into account, and I say this in the humblest manner possible.

It is my opinion that exclusives will forever be a major part of console’s selling points, because each console has such a unique personality. It would be impossible, for example, to design a Ninja Gaiden Sigma for the Wii and maintain the attitude, grandeur and power of the PS3 version. We see what happened wih COD3 on the Wii. And the same goes the other way–I can’t imagine third party developers being too keen on developing a game based on motion-sensing technology and have to put it on the Xbox 360 and PS3 (though in some cases I guess the game could be ported to the PS3, too).

When we continue to hear things like the console war is still heated and rolling, it makes me think that exclusives must continue to play a huge part in the future of this industry, like a checks-and-balances political system; you release a Zelda, we release a Halo, they release a Final Fantasy.

Also, there’s the matter of the rising trend of online purchases. Through things like Xbox Live, The Wii Channel and the Playstation Store (I’m putting my money on it becoming integrated into PSHome pretty soon) players will have all sorts of unlockable/buyable, downloadable content. Costumes, add-ons, weapons, features can all be sold by the same developers for their exclusives and they can make a much larger cash influx (sort of how Blizzard just keeps making money off the same stuff). Because developers won’t have to go through stores and distributors (though I’m not sure how much they have to pay to put their work on each console’s online portal) they’ll be able to make a lot more profit off each feature sold.

Finally, to address the issue of MGS4′s looming deadline, I have a feeling well over 33% of Playstation 3s sold were bought by people who wanted Metal Gear Solid 4. After all, look at all those rumors (and another) spread around by Xbox 360 fanboys that MGS4 is cming out on Xbox 360, when Hideo Kojima already confirmed the bloody thing for PS3.

I remember reading at some point that Kojima replied, when asked why so many rumors kept popping up about MGS4 for the Xbox 360, “Well, because obviously people want it on the Xbox 360.” I lost the source, so I can’t really cite it, but when I read it I thought that was such a concise and clever answer.

So if this many people want it out, even those that don’t have a PS3, I don’t think MGS4 has anything to worry about.

And I believe firmly, despite the negativity I’ve heard around me, that it will be an excellent game.

Here’s to hoping.

P.S. WordPress somehow deleted this post which I put up earlier today… I seem to have had a draft saved so I could rewrite the end, but man, that was irritating and frightening.

Share on Facebook